Multiple meteb



H. L. BLUM MULTIPLE METER Feb. 16, 19377;

Filed Nov. 3

BY mi 1 Tram/Em Patented Feb. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE smesso MULTIPLE Marsa Hosmer L. Blum, Burlingame, Calif. Application November 3,1934, sei-iai No. 'raises 9 Claims.

This invention relates to multiple meters and particularly to multiple meters in which a plurality of banks of cylinders are arranged in opposed relation with a mechanism for operating valves interposed between the opposed banks of cylinders, and in which the opposed bank oi cylinders each consists ot a plurality of cylinders disposed about a common axis. Novel means are included for operating valves for controlling the flow into and out ot the cylinders. and it is not intended to limit such novel means to meters having opposed banks of cylinders since such novel means may be equally employed with advantages in meters having a single bank oi' cylinders.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a iiuid meter oi' simple construction and greatly increased measuring capacity: to provide a uid meter having a double bank oi' opposed cylinders including pistons therein and having novel means for actuating valve mechanism; to provide a meter having opposed pistons in opposed cylinders and means interposed therebetween for controlling ilow through the meter: to provide, in a meter, a novel valve means and novel means for operating valve mechanism: to provide a meter which may be readily and easily assembled and disassembled; and to generally improve known meters oi this type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, all oi which will be more apparent as this description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination ci parts hereinafter described. illustrated in the accompanying drawing. and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and details oi construction of the apparatus may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or sacriiicing any oi the advantages o! the invention.

The attached drawing exemplifies one form which the invention may take. and reference is hereby directed thereto as a part ci this specilication:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view on line I-I oi' Fig. 3.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on line II-II oi Fla'. 3.

Fig. 3 is a plan view on line III- III ci Fig. 2, the top o! the meter casing being removed.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal transverse sectional view on line IV-IV oi' Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view on line V-V OIFIEJ.

(Cl. 'laf-444) Fig. d is a fragmentary side elevation of a cam track member and its supporting shalt.

Fig. 'i is a perspective oi valve mechanism enlarged to show detail o! structure.

Referring to the drawing in which like char 5 acters oi reierence indicate corresponding parts.

I0 indicates generally a casing'preierably comprising a cylindrical tubular body having a top Il and a bottom i2 sealed tightly thereto as by Joints i2'A Vfastened securely by bolts Ii. Transversely 1o of the casing and adjacent the top Ii and bottom i! are partition walls Il and I4. Between the partition wall I2 and topil achamber Il is provided and between the partition wall i4 and the bottom l! another chamber il is provided, said l5 chambers il and i'i being in communication with an outlet chamber i8 through openings il. Mounted upon each partition wall is a bank oi a plurality o! cylinders 2i which are concentricaliy arranged about a common axis, iive oi such cylinn ders being preferred in each bank so as to eliminate a dead-center balance in the operation of the meter.. Each partition wall il. i4 is provided centrally with an opening 22 which communicates through a passageway 2l with a central com- 2 partment 24 which is formed in the interior oi' the casing between the two partition walls i3. i4, and within which central compartment the cylinder bodies are housed.

Each oi' the partition walls i3 and I4 is also 30 provided with an opening or port 25 into each cylinder mounted on that respective partition wall. Within each cylinder is a piston 2B which is reciprocable therein, each piston having a connecting rod 21. The two banks of cylinders 35 are relatively spaced in the compartment 24 and the cylinders in each bank are preferably axiclly aligned with the cylinders in the opposing bank. The connecting rods 21 oi the pistons 2l in, opposed cylinders are operatively connected so that o the pistons in opposed cylinders simultaneously move in the same direction but move in opposite directions in their relative functions with relation to the cylinder in which they reciprocate, that is, when opposed and operatively connected 45 pistons are moving in the same direction relative to each other. one oi them is making a discharge stroke in a cylinder while the other is making an intake stroke in the opposed cylinder. Extending axially through the two banks of cylinso ders and through the spaces 23 therebetween in the compartment 24 is a rotatable shaft Il which is supported for rotation in tubular bearings Ii which are mounted on each partition wall and aresupported thereonbywebsllandextendss longitudinally of the respective passageways 2l. 'I'his rotatable shait extends beyond the opposite sides of the two partition walls I3 and Il and on each oi' said opposite sides within the respective chambers i8 and I1 said shaft mounts a rotatable valve 32, ll. The valve 32 most nearly adjacent the counting mechanism III is provided with an external wing u which engages an arm which, upon revolution, is operative to register uponcounting mechanism Il which is provided with the usual sight tace Il.

The rotation of shaft Sil is accomplished by the reciprocation of the pistons II through an operative connection between the connecting rods 11 and the shai't It, whereby reciprocal motion of the pistons is translated to rotary motion oi the shaft. It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the mechanism disclosed in the drawing herein for translating the reciprocal motion ot the pistons 2B into rotary motion of shaft 3U. since I have disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 151.384, filed Nov. 3, 1934, for Double action uid meter. another mechanism consisting or a wobble plate tor accomplishing the translation of the reciprocal movement into rotary movement. In the exempliiled form of mechanism disclosed herein, the rotatable shaft Il) mounts iixedly thereon as by pin II a ball l1 upon which there is adjustably clamped as by plate 88 a disc cam plate IB which has a peripheral cam track I on each oi its opposite faces. Each oi the connecting rods 21 of pistons in opposed cylinders carry at their relatively adjacent ends an interconnecting yoke l! which mounts anti-friction bearings or rollers l! which ride upon the opposite faces 40 of the cam track, and upon reciprocation o! the pistons the cam track is thusly rotated, and thereby the shalt SII is rotated responsive to the reciprocation of the pistons in the cylinders. The angle of inclination of the cam disc relative to the axis of the rotatable shaft 30 may be adjusted by a set screw M. The yoke l! may be provided with a shoe li to slidingly engage the outer peripheral face ci' the cam disc and therebyl steady the rotation oi the disc relative to the reciprocation o! the piston.

The valves 32, 33 illustrated in the preferred form exemplled in the drawing consist of cuplike structures having a greater radial dimension on one side of the axis of rotation than on the opposite side of said axis as at l1, 4B, the cups of said two sides being in communication. The valve is also provided with oppositely disposed wings ll which will be further explained in connection with the operation of the valve.

The mode of operation of the apparatus is as follows:-

An inlet conduit Bl is provided in communica-` tion with the central compartment 2l within the casing and preferably into the space between the opposed banks oi cylinders. This permits a free iniiow into the compartment 24. All incoming uid through conduit il must pass through the cylinder chambers 2i in order to actuate the pistons and thereby be measured on the counter mechanism 28. It will be understood that no two cylinders in the same bank of cylinders arenecessarily diametrically opposed. but that the cylinders operate in stepped relationship successively, but oi necessity, opposed pistons in the separate banks operate in the same direction relative to each other but are simultaneously functioning for opposite purposes in the opposed cylinders. The valves as they rotate have their cup portions 41, l! continuously in communication with the passageway 23 and, as the valves rotate the large cup portion l1 suecessively communicates with the respective openings l oi' the successive cylinder chambers, thus successively providing communication from the inlet conduit to the interior of the cylinders. As the valve rotates, the wing 49 momentarily closes the opening 26 so that the cup portion l1 may not be partiallyoverlying a. port 25 for illling the cylinder with iiuid while another part of the same port 25 is open to communication with the outlet chamber I6, Il. By this valve and port structure, the incoming fluid may flow from compartment 24 through passageways 23 and openings 22 into the cups 41, 4B oi the valve and thence through opening 25 into the respective cylinder chambers and thus depresses the piston 2B in successive cylinders; and simultaneously in the particular opposed cylinder in the opposite bank of cylinde'rs the smaller cup pocket 48 continues in communication with central passageway 23 through openings 22, and the larger pocket Il has rotated i'or communication with port 2l of another cylinder, so that when the piston in the rst bank makes an intake stroke the piston in the opposed cylinder oi' the opposite bank makes a discharge stroke, and the uid is discharged from the cylinder through port 25 into the adjacent respective chamber i6. I1 with which it has communication. For this reason, the valves 32, 33 at the opposite ends oi rotatable shaft I0 have their larger pockets 41 disposed on the opposite sides of the axis of the shaft 30 and the smaller pockets 48 are likewise oppositely disposed relative to the axis o! said shaft. The uid discharged from the cylinder ports 25 ilows from the separate cylinder banks into the respective chambers it and Il and thence through the openings or ports I8 and through a iluid outlet conduit 53, having, in transit through the cylinders, reciprocated the pistons 26 and thereby rotated the cam disc 39 which in turn has rotated shaft 30 which has registered the fluid volume in transit upon the counting mechanism 28.

While the valve structure exemplied herein is the preferred form, it is to be understood that other valve structures may be adopted in carrying out this invention, one oi such alternate forms oi valves being disclosed in my co-pending application for Double action iluid meter heretoi'ore mentioned herein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz- 1. A uid meter having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, a pair of relatively. spaced banks of oppositely disposed ported cylinders providing a central chamber in the space therebetween into which one oi said conduits has free communication, the cylinders of each bank being opposed to and axially aligned with the cylinders of the other bank, a rotatable valve associated with each bank oi cylinders for controlling said cylinder ports and providing communication from the interior of the cylinders alternately to the central chamber and to the other of said conduits, respectively, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, means including a disc plate operable responsive to the reciprocation of the pistons for correlating the reciprocation of the pistons and translating the reciprocal movement thereof to rotary motion, and means operated by the last mentioned means for rotating each oi the valves responsive to reciprocation oi the pistons in the cylinders. the said meter having therein a pair of paseageways from said central chamber, said respective passageways communicating with the respective cylinders of the respective banks upon rotation of the respective valves.

2.V A duid meter having an inlet conduitand an outlet conduit, a pair of relatively spaced'banis of opposltely disposed ported cylinders,VV providing a central chamber in the space therebetween into which one of said conduits opens, the cylinders of each bank being opposed to and axially aligned with the cylinders of the other bank, a rotatable valve associated with each bank oi' cylinders for controlling said cylinder ports and for providing communication from the interior of the cylinders alternately to the central chamber and to the other of said conduits. a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder. means mounted in said central chamber for correlating the reclprocation of the pistons inthe respective banks for translating the reciprocal movement thereof to rotary motion and providing operative connection between pistons in axially aligned opposing cylinders for simultaneous reciprocation of oppositely disposed pistons. and a rotatable shaft operated by the last means for rotating each of the valves responsive to reciprocation o! the pistons in the cylinders, the said meter having therein a pair of passageways from said cen tral chamber, communicating with the cylinders of the respective banks upon rotation oi' the respective valves, and the respective axes of the cylinders and rotatable shaft being substantially parallel.

3. A fluid meter including a casing having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, a. pair of relatively spaced banks of oppositely disposed ported cylinders providing a central chamber in the space therebetween into which one of said conduits opens, each bank comprising a plurality of cylinders arranged about and spaced from a common axis providing a central passageway for fluid from the central chamber to each bank oi cylinders, a rotatable shaft member mounted in said passageways and extending through the central chamber, the respective axes of the shaft and cylinders being substantially parallel, a valve mounted for rotation on each end portion of said shaft member adjacent each bank of cylinders for controlling the ports of the adjacent cylinders, said valves upon rotation thereof providing communication from ythe interior of the cylinders alternately to the central chamber and to the other of said conduits, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, and means for correlating the reciprocation of the pistons for translating the reciprocal movement thereof to rotary motion for rotating said shaft member responsive to reciprocation of the pistons in the cylinders, said last mentioned means having operative connection between pistons in relatively opposite cylinders in the respective banks whereby pistons in opposite cylinders reciprocate simultaneously.

4. A fluid meter including a casing having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, a pair of relatively spaced banks of ported cylinders providing a central chamber in the space therebetween into which one of said conduits opens, each bank comprising a plurality of cylinders circularly arranged about and spaced from a common axis providing a central passageway for fluid from the central chamber to each bank of cylinders, the cylinders of each bank being opposed to and axially aligned with the cylinders of the other bank, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, the pistons in opposing cylinders having a connecting member therebetween adapting them for simultaneous reciprocatlon, a rotatable shaft member extending through the central chamber and said passageway! and rotatable responsive to reciprocation of the pistons, a valve mounted to rotate with said rotatable member adJacent each bank oi' cylinders. said valves controlling the ports of the cylinders and providing, upon rotation thereof, communication alternately between the interior of the cylinders in the corresponding adjacent bank and the respective inlet and outlet conduits, and disc plate means mounted on said rotatable shaft in said central chamber and having its radially outward portion operatively connected to pistons oi opposing banks for correlating the reciprocation oi the pistons in the respective banks and translating the reciprocal movement thereof to rotary motion.

5. A huid meter including a casing having therein a pair of relatively spaced banks oi' ported cylinders providing therebetween a central chamber. said banks of cylinders at their opposite ends being spaced from the casing providing outer chambers, the cylinders of each bank being relatively oppositely disposed to the cylinders of the other bank, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, a rotatably mounted valve in the outer chamber of each bank of cylinders for controlling the ports of the adiacent cylinders and providing, upon rotation thereof, communication alternately between the interior of the cylinders and the respective central and outer chambers, and means in said central chamber operative re sponsive to reciprocation of the pistons in the cylinders for translating the reciprocal movement of the pistons to rotary motion, said last mentioned means being operatively connected to the valves for rotating the valves.

6. A fluid meter having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, a pair of relatively spaced banks of oppositely disposed ported cylinders providing a central chamber in the space therebetween having free communication with one of said conduits, a rotatable valve associated with each bank of cylinders for controlling said cylinder ports and providing communication from the interior of the cylinders alternately to the central chamber and to the other of said conduits, respectively, said valves having their respective axes of rotation parallel to the axes of the cylinders, a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, means operable responsive to reciprocation oi the pistons for correlating the reciprocal movement thereof and translating such movement to rotary motion, and means operated by the last mentioned means for actuating said valves responsive to reciprocation of the pistons in the cylinders, the said meter having therein a pair of passageways from said central chamber, said respective passageways communicating with the cylinders of the respective banks upon actuation of the valves.

7. A fluid meter including an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit, a pair of relatively spaced banks ci' ported cylinders having therebetween a central chamber, one of said conduits communieating with the central chamber and the other of said conduits communicating with the cylinders of each bank through the cylinder ports, a piston reciprocably mounted ln each cylinder, rotatably mounted valve means for controlling the ports of the cylinders in the respective banks and providing, upon rotation t hereof, communication from the interior oi' the cylinders alternately to the central chamber and to the said other conduit which communicates with the cylinders. and means in said central chamber operative responsive to reciprocation of the pistons in thecylinders for translating the reciprocal movement o! the pistons to a rotary motion on a rotative axis which is parallel to the Vaires of the cylinders, said last mentioned means being operatively connected .to the valve means for rotating said valve means. the cylinders in each bank being disposed about a common axis and spaced therei from providing centrally oi each bank of cylinders a passageway which communicates with the interior of the adjacent cylinders through the valve means. y

8. A liuid meter including a casing provided with an inlet opening and an outlet opening and having therein a pair oi relatively oppositely spaced banks of ported cylinders providing therebetween a central chamber which communicates with one oi said openings, said casing having therein a conduit communicating with the other of said openings and with the cylinders of the respective banks o! cylinders, the cylinders oi' each bankbeing arranged about and spaced iroma common axis providing a eway centrally oi each bank of cylinders. a piston reciprocably mounted in each cylinder, a shaft rotatably mounted in said passageways on arotative axis parallel to the axes o! the cylinders. valve means mounted on said rotatable shai't at said central passageway for controlling the ports of the cylinders in the respective banks oi cylinders and providing communication from the interiorpf the cylinders alternately to the respective central chamber and said other conduit which communicates with an opening in the casing, and means in said central chamber operative responsive to reciprocation of the pistons in the cylinders for translating the reciprocal movement of the pistons to rotary motion having a rotative axis parallel to the axes of the cylinders, said lastr mentioned means being operatively connected to said shaft tor actuating the valve means and hiving operative connection with pistons in the respective opposite banks oi cylinders whereby pistons tn relatively opposite cylinders are simultaneously reciprocated.

9. In a iluid meter having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit. a pair o! relatively spaced banks of cylinders having a central chamber therebetween. the cylinders oi'4 each bank being arranged about and spaced from a common axis providing a passageway centrally between the cylinders in each bank. a reciprocable piston in each cylinder, said cylinders each having an end closure and being provided with a port, a rotatably mounted. shaft. valve means mounted at said respective central passageways and operably connected to said shaft and adapted for controlling the opening and closing o! the ports of the cylinders and providing communication i'rom the inlet conduit to the outlet conduit through the valve means, the central chamber, the said respective passageways and cylinders. said valve means and shaft having their respective axes in a direction parallel to the axes of the cylinders, and means including a disc plate in said central chamber for correlating the reciprocation oi the pistons in the cylinders and translating the reciprocal movement oi the pistons to rotary movement. the rotative axis o! which is parallel to the axes oi the cylinders. said last mentioned means being connected to said shaft for rotating said shaft and thereby actuating the valve means.

HOSMER L. BLUM. 

